I’m a proud Welshman and so like many others I will be celebrating St David’s Day again this year - and with good reason too! Dewi Sant was a key figure in the story of ‘Celtic Christianity’.

And we can learn a lot from those ‘saints’ because they had an amazing impact on the pagan tribes of Western Britain following the collapse of the Roman Empire. Their intentional focus on those who didn’t belong to their communities has particularly impressed me. Far from erecting barriers (as the church can so easily do) the Celtic churches did everything they could to engage with non-believers and to make them feel welcome.

But St David’s Day is a regular reminder that the word ‘saint’ is no longer used in the same way that it is in the New Testament. As far as the early church was concerned every Christian was a saint. We see that in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he writes, “To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.”

The same word can mean different things to different people, and this is particularly true when it comes to the concept of ‘greatness’, something I’ve been giving some serious thought to given President Trump’s vociferous determination to “Make America Great Again.” I would love to sit down with him and ask him if he understands it in the same way that Ronald Reagan did when he used that catchy slogan back in 1980 for example. But I would also like to know what he thinks about Jesus’ teaching on greatness given his claim that he was “saved by God to make America great again.”

The Gospels show us that the disciples constantly struggled with the temptation to become ‘top dog’ and that Jesus grasped every opportunity to teach them that they needed to redefine their understanding of greatness. According to the gospel writer Matthew, Jesus didn’t associate ‘greatness’ with political, economic or military power, and certainly not in terms of status and public recognition either.

His approach can be summed up in one simple quotation: “The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted’. He also operated on the principle that actions speak louder than words and so He pointed to His own life which was devoted to service and care for others.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Mr Trump could persuade his fellow Americans to view greatness this way? Come to think about it though it would be just as thrilling if we in Wales understood it this way too. It obviously has to start somewhere so why can’t it begin with you and me? Now there’s a resolution for St David’s Day. Let’s ‘Make Wales Great Again’.